Secrets of the Trade
by Suffering Angel
Summary: Cassie gets relationship advice from one Prince Charming, Theodore Altman.


I don't own YA.

* * *

**_Secrets of the Trade_**

Despite being a group of superheroes, most of them actually super-powered, all of them capable, the Young Avengers didn't spend their every waking moment fighting crime and saving the world. Sometimes they took care of their secret identities, or took some much needed downtime, or were buried by schoolwork.  
Right then, the team as a whole, all seven members were in their Lair, partaking in what was called amongst normal people their age - 'movie night'. Even Tommy, who couldn't sit still for a moment, made a considerable effort to participate in the activity. He was appointed snack-duty in order to make it easier on all of them. Tommy went in and out without harassing anyone too much; Kate and Eli seemed comfortable around each other; and of course, Teddy and Billy were snuggled together and somehow managed to keep both from touching each other inappropriately, as well as be too opinionated about the movie.  
Things could've been downright perfect, if only the last two members enjoyed themselves as well, but alas. Jonas kept sending longing looks in Cassie's direction, while the girl seemed aloof and gave off an overall morbid vibe. No one was really surprised when she finally stood up and left the room, but under Kate's instructions, no one followed her for the time being.

"What happened between you guys?" Tommy asked, lacking the patience needed to deal with those things.  
Jonas lowered his look and hunched his shoulders.

"It's nothing." He replied, but no one believed it. Still, they did nothing, not until Kate said it was alright, which happened a short while later.

–

A sigh left Cassie's lips, and she curled up a bit more around herself. Relationships weren't supposed to be this hard, she thought bitterly and shrank further in her spot on the windowsill. Where was her love-at-first-sight and happy ending? No Disney Princess ever had to _work_ on her happily-ever-after... did they? Ugh, this was more Billy's field of expertise, she reckoned, yet that very thought made her let out another sigh as she recalled how comfortable Teddy and Billy looked together. Why couldn't she have that? Only, you know, _straight_-

"Cassie?"

She looked up at the sound of the voice, only to find one of the two who made her so jealous so easily standing in the doorway. It wasn't Disney-Boy, but she didn't feel that much better, staring at Prince Charming.  
Teddy was looking around, a worried frown on his face. It took her a moment to realize he couldn't see her, and so she let herself grow again, just before he moved to leave.

"Oh, there you are." Teddy hummed as suddenly there was a girl by the window, who was rapidly growing back to her usual size.

"I was... kind of expecting Kate, heh." Cassie admitted with hunched shoulders and a bashful smile. Seeing how she was at least responsive, and willing to communicate, Teddy smiled back and closed the door behind him.

"She got a call she had to answer from home. Will it help if I said I was her appointed ambassador?"

Given the options, Cassie thought it made sense. Eli and Tommy weren't the diplomatic kind, Jonas was the "problem", and Billy was more Kate's BFF than he was Cassie's.  
Cassie nodded once and leaned back against the wall.

"It does, a bit."

The older teen's smile became softer, and he pulled over a chair before sitting on it, front against the backrest with him facing Cassie.

"Sorry to have ruined your evening." She said while he settled down, only to have him wave a hand dismissively when he could.

"Better you than the Sinister Six, or Osborn, or something along those lines. And it's not ruined, we're officially on a break until Eli and Tommy come back from a snacks and pizza run."

Cassie laughed in mild discomfort and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.  
"That sounds like _hell_ for Tommy."

"I feel more for Eli, who has to put up with complaints coming at him in super-speed." Teddy replied simply enough and was relieved to see Cassie was a bit more genuinely amused.

"Oh look, the first smile for the evening. I'm one lucky guy."

Cassie shifted slightly.  
"Sorry I got you guys worried."

"It's what friends are for. Do you know what friends are _also_ for?"

She quirked a brow at him. He tilted his head.

"Hearing you out."

She closed her eyes and had an expression that almost said 'I should've seen it coming'.  
"Isn't Billy the one with the corny lines?"

"Only when he quotes from commercial material. You should hear his original stuff, it's _awful_."

A short laugh was shared before Cassie pursed her lips. She hugged herself and looked down, and Teddy gave her the time needed to put her thought together. She shook her head then next moment though with an awkward smile.

"No, I can't... it's silly, it's-"

"_Boy problems_?" Teddy practically purred and rested his chin on the backrest. "Because I wouldn't know _jack_ about _that_, right?" He added and wiggled his eyebrows.

Cassie seemed sheepish for a moment, but had no more reasons to deny him an answer beyond pettiness and stubbornness. As worthy reasons as those were - they didn't last, right then.  
When Cassie finally spoke next, she gave Teddy a somewhat pointed look that was an odd mixture of accusing and despaired.

"How do you guys manage?" Came the question that left Teddy blinking.

"Uh, wha-"

"You and Billy." She began to explain without meeting his eyes.  
"It's just- you guys never seem to run out of things to say, you have so much in common, and if you disagree about something, you at least respect each other or downright drag each other into it, you- _God_, you finish each other's sentences!" She exclaimed and held up her hands.  
"You keep talking with your _eyes_! And you never seem to grow tired of each other, I barely see you apart!"

Teddy listened quietly, nodding on occasion and seeming distinctly pleased with himself. Cassie at this point was rather self-conscious, but having said so much, she couldn't quite stop there.

"I'm not saying you guys don't argue, or have bad days, but they're few and far in between, and when it's good, it's- well, it's _amazing_. I was just-"

She paused to look at him before reaching to hug herself again.

"How do you guys do that... is what I was wondering."

Teddy nodded finally at that statement before he looked the girl over. He then gave the matter serious thought, hands pressed together with his fingers pressed against the middle of his face.

"How do we do... all those things you said, huh." He summed; she nodded.  
Teddy lowered his hands and sat up, eyes meeting Cassie's. He had a flattered, happy sort of look on his face that due to circumstances was painted in a slightly apologetic hue.

"I guess... I'm just dating my best friend."

A small gasp filtered through Cassie's lips at the statement. It rang true and terrible in its simplicity, and she hunched her shoulders.

"And if _I_'m not?"

He had no easy answers to give her, and so he opted instead for honest ones.  
"Then you have to put some _extra_ work into it."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but knew it was the truth, and tried to accept it.  
The next moment she was taken by surprise when Teddy moved to hug her, and Cassie let him, smiling as she snuggled against his larger frame.

"Hey, it's going to be ok." He said if only to have it said, and she nodded against his chest.

"I know. I just need to... grow up or something." Cassie concluded and pulled away, only to blink when Teddy held a hand over her head, and then pulled it higher with a raised brow.  
It took her a moment, but finally she laughed and lightly hit his side.

"Not like that, silly!"

"Ow." He complained, only to grin at her next, his hand ruffling her hair gently.  
"We good to go? Pizza should be here by now."

"Lets, or Tommy'll finish everything. What is he, a bottomless pit?"

"He just digests faster, I guess."

"...lucky."

–

As soon as they joined the others, Teddy went to smother one surprised boyfriend with affection. Cassie smiled at the display before she let her attention drift to Jonas, who was giving her nothing short of a puppy look. She glanced once at Teddy and Billy in the midst of being- well, Teddy and Billy, and shook her head at herself. Even they needed to work on it, right? So she could at least _try_.

"Hey." She uttered softly and offered Jonas a smile as she pushed a blonde strand behind her ear.  
Jonas blinked for a moment before smiling back and taking her hand.

Despite being a group of superheroes, most of them actually super-powered, all of them capable, the Young Avengers didn't spend their every waking moment fighting crime and saving the world. Sometimes they took care of their secret identities, or took some much needed downtime, or were buried by schoolwork.  
Right then, the team as a whole, all seven members were in their Lair, partaking in what was called amongst normal people their age - 'movie night'. Even Tommy, who couldn't sit still for a moment, made a considerable effort to participate in the activity. He was appointed snack-duty in order to make it easier on all of them. Tommy went in and out without harassing anyone too much; Kate and Eli seemed comfortable around each other; and of course, Teddy and Billy were snuggled together and somehow managed to keep both from touching each other inappropriately, as well as be too opinionated about the movie.  
Things could've been downright perfect, if only the last two members enjoyed themselves as well, but alas. Jonas kept sending longing looks in Cassie's direction, while the girl seemed aloof and gave off an overall morbid vibe. No one was really surprised when she finally stood up and left the room, but under Kate's instructions, no one followed her for the time being.

"What happened between you guys?" Tommy asked, lacking the patience needed to deal with those things.  
Jonas lowered his look and hunched his shoulders.

"It's nothing." He replied, but no one believed it. Still, they did nothing, not until Kate said it was alright, which happened a short while later.

–

A sigh left Cassie's lips, and she curled up a bit more around herself. Relationships weren't supposed to be this hard, she thought bitterly and shrank further in her spot on the windowsill. Where was her love-at-first-sight and happy ending? No Disney Princess ever had to ___work_ on her happily-ever-after... did they? Ugh, this was more Billy's field of expertise, she reckoned, yet that very thought made her let out another sigh as she recalled how comfortable Teddy and Billy looked together. Why couldn't she have that? Only, you know, ___straight_-

"Cassie?"

She looked up at the sound of the voice, only to find one of the two who made her so jealous so easily standing in the doorway. It wasn't Disney-Boy, but she didn't feel that much better, staring at Prince Charming.  
Teddy was looking around, a worried frown on his face. It took her a moment to realize he couldn't see her, and so she let herself grow again, just before he moved to leave.

"Oh, there you are." Teddy hummed as suddenly there was a girl by the window, who was rapidly growing back to her usual size.

"I was... kind of expecting Kate, heh." Cassie admitted with hunched shoulders and a bashful smile. Seeing how she was at least responsive, and willing to communicate, Teddy smiled back and closed the door behind him.

"She got a call she had to answer from home. Will it help if I said I was her appointed ambassador?"

Given the options, Cassie thought it made sense. Eli and Tommy weren't the diplomatic kind, Jonas was the "problem", and Billy was more Kate's BFF than he was Cassie's.  
Cassie nodded once and leaned back against the wall.

"It does, a bit."

The older teen's smile became softer, and he pulled over a chair before sitting on it, front against the backrest with him facing Cassie.

"Sorry to have ruined your evening." She said while he settled down, only to have him wave a hand dismissively when he could.

"Better you than the Sinister Six, or Osborn, or something along those lines. And it's not ruined, we're officially on a break until Eli and Tommy come back from a snacks and pizza run."

Cassie laughed in mild discomfort and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.  
"That sounds like ___hell_ for Tommy."

"I feel more for Eli, who has to put up with complaints coming at him in super-speed." Teddy replied simply enough and was relieved to see Cassie was a bit more genuinely amused.

"Oh look, the first smile for the evening. I'm one lucky guy."

Cassie shifted slightly.  
"Sorry I got you guys worried."

"It's what friends are for. Do you know what friends are ___also_ for?"

She quirked a brow at him. He tilted his head.

"Hearing you out."

She closed her eyes and had an expression that almost said 'I should've seen it coming'.  
"Isn't Billy the one with the corny lines?"

"Only when he quotes from commercial material. You should hear his original stuff, it's ___awful_."

A short laugh was shared before Cassie pursed her lips. She hugged herself and looked down, and Teddy gave her the time needed to put her thought together. She shook her head then next moment though with an awkward smile.

"No, I can't... it's silly, it's-"

"___Boy problems_?" Teddy practically purred and rested his chin on the backrest. "Because I wouldn't know ___jack_ about ___that_, right?" He added and wiggled his eyebrows.

Cassie seemed sheepish for a moment, but had no more reasons to deny him an answer beyond pettiness and stubbornness. As worthy reasons as those were - they didn't last, right then.  
When Cassie finally spoke next, she gave Teddy a somewhat pointed look that was an odd mixture of accusing and despaired.

"How do you guys manage?" Came the question that left Teddy blinking.

"Uh, wha-"

"You and Billy." She began to explain without meeting his eyes.  
"It's just- you guys never seem to run out of things to say, you have so much in common, and if you disagree about something, you at least respect each other or downright drag each other into it, you- ___God_, you finish each other's sentences!" She exclaimed and held up her hands.  
"You keep talking with your ___eyes_! And you never seem to grow tired of each other, I barely see you apart!"

Teddy listened quietly, nodding on occasion and seeming distinctly pleased with himself. Cassie at this point was rather self-conscious, but having said so much, she couldn't quite stop there.

"I'm not saying you guys don't argue, or have bad days, but they're few and far in between, and when it's good, it's- well, it's ___amazing_. I was just-"

She paused to look at him before reaching to hug herself again.

"How do you guys do that... is what I was wondering."

Teddy nodded finally at that statement before he looked the girl over. He then gave the matter serious thought, hands pressed together with his fingers pressed against the middle of his face.

"How do we do... all those things you said, huh." He summed; she nodded.  
Teddy lowered his hands and sat up, eyes meeting Cassie's. He had a flattered, happy sort of look on his face that due to circumstances was painted in a slightly apologetic hue.

"I guess... I'm just dating my best friend."

A small gasp filtered through Cassie's lips at the statement. It rang true and terrible in its simplicity, and she hunched her shoulders.

"And if ___I_'m not?"

He had no easy answers to give her, and so he opted instead for honest ones.  
"Then you have to put some ___extra_ work into it."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but knew it was the truth, and tried to accept it.  
The next moment she was taken by surprise when Teddy moved to hug her, and Cassie let him, smiling as she snuggled against his larger frame.

"Hey, it's going to be ok." He said if only to have it said, and she nodded against his chest.

"I know. I just need to... grow up or something." Cassie concluded and pulled away, only to blink when Teddy held a hand over her head, and then pulled it higher with a raised brow.  
It took her a moment, but finally she laughed and lightly hit his side.

"Not like that, silly!"

"Ow." He complained, only to grin at her next, his hand ruffling her hair gently.  
"We good to go? Pizza should be here by now."

"Lets, or Tommy'll finish everything. What is he, a bottomless pit?"

"He just digests faster, I guess."

"...lucky."

–

As soon as they joined the others, Teddy went to smother one surprised boyfriend with affection. Cassie smiled at the display before she let her attention drift to Jonas, who was giving her nothing short of a puppy look. She glanced once at Teddy and Billy in the midst of being- well, Teddy and Billy, and shook her head at herself. Even they needed to work on it, right? So she could at least ___try_.

"Hey." She uttered softly and offered Jonas a smile as she pushed a blonde strand behind her ear.  
Jonas blinked for a moment before smiling back and taking her hand.


End file.
